Edwina Tries… Eeriebyss

Contributed

Jump scares, gore, and general spookiness in an old, abandoned Erie factory? Edwina tries it! If you've never been able to work up the nerve to walk through the Eeriebyss Factory of Terror, let Edwina's bravery inspire you to give it a try.

When I was younger, I loved rollercoasters and scary movies. Now that I'm a little older, rollercoasters leave me nauseated and a good jump scare has the potential to make me wet my pants. Most of the time I think, "eh, the world is scary enough." But, spooky season is upon us and I endeavor to step outside my comfort zone and report back to you, dear reader. This month I visited Eeriebyss: Factory of Terror at 1053 W. 12th St.

Eeriebyss is a haunted attraction housed in a 120+ year old factory building. History nerds like me may be interested to know that the building was once the home of Griswold cast iron cookware from 1903 to 1957. It's a cool and creepy location – there's a hearse and a black box truck out front. Our party of four was greeted by a scary clown and a security guard at the well-lit entrance. It was Sunday evening and there was no wait to enter.

After buying our tickets, we shuffled along to the start of the attraction where we were advised of all of the conditions of entry by a grandmotherly-type employee. The rules are also posted and I felt good about the fact that there were stiff penalties for not following them, including a $700 fine for smoking or vaping. My anxiety was high and it felt good to know they were running a tight ship in the interest of safe fun. With one last bit of advice to "smile for a picture when you get to the Eerie Meat Market," we were let in and directed to a door.

No spoilers, but there were plenty of surprises, twists, and turns and a perfect combination of animatronics and actors that were hard to tell apart in the dark. It was multi-level and took longer to get through than I anticipated – I felt like they really tried to give us our money's worth. While the actors were working hard to spook us, I was also impressed by the respect for personal space we were given as well as the overall kindness of the staff. During our trip, part of our group needed to take a couple of breaks and there were employees that came through to check on us and were so courteous – dressed in scary costumes but with hearts of gold.

If you're looking for something fun to do this fall, check out Eeriebyss: Factory of Terror. I'd recommend it for anyone 12 or older who doesn't mind a bit of walking. If you're really lucky you may get a chance to meet Sutty the pug while you're hanging out in the gift shop or checking out your meat market photos.

Open through Nov. 1 // Fridays and Saturdays 7 p.m. to midnight // Sundays 6 to 10 p.m. // Information and tickets at eeriebyss.com

Edwina is Erie's (self-proclaimed) biggest fan who loves being a tourist in our own town. If you have an idea of something new she should try you can email her at edwina.capozziello@gmail.com